Did the Sonics just tank the 2007-08 season?

Before any local fans could thrill over drafting Kevin Durant with the second pick, ESPN announced that the Sonics dumped their franchise player, Ray Allen — a classy guy who also happens to be one of the great shooters in NBA history — for a couple of pieces of meat (Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak) and the No. 5 pick, which became Georgetown forward Jeff Green.

Again: Wow. Reading the posts as the fine folks at Sonics Central went nuts would have been amusing if, well, everything didn’t feel so dire.

ESPN’s John Hollinger constructed a draft rating system that’s received a lot of buzz this week. It rated Durant as “the best talent to come out of the college ranks in the last half decade.” Durant scored an 870.7 in Hollinger’s system — the best score since 2002 was Carmelo Anthony’s 781.3 in 2003.

And this is what it had to say about Jeff Green (and Julian Wright).

Jeff Green and Julian Wright don’t rate as lottery picks. Though players with a score in the area of 500 usually are first-round quality and sometimes become very good, there are far better options to be had in this draft. Wright is a very poor shooter for his size, while Green’s athletic markers were surprisingly average.

What does this mean? Perhaps nothing. Green’s stock had been on the uptick among scouts, and his passing skills might make him a nice complement to Durant’s scoring prowess.

But a day that for weeks has felt like a sure slam dunk of “let’s turn things around” for the beleaguered Sonics now feels a little, well, iffy.

Welcome to rebuilding.

Most insiders felt that adding Durant and an upgrade at point guard would have the Sonics not just contending for the playoffs but pushing toward 50 wins next year. This move feels like an announcement that Sonics fans surely don’t want to hear: Winning next season, perhaps the franchise’s last in Seattle, is not a priority.

And what about Rashard Lewis? Green, Durant and Lewis appear to play the same position. New GM Sam Presti said the Sonics still intend to re-sign Lewis and emphasized this troika’s “versatility.” Hmm.

I got $5 bucks that says: 1) Rashard may not be happy with Ray being kicked to the curb; 2) Presti is thinking sign-and-trade.

And, speaking of sign-and-trade, what about point guard?

It feels like the offseason story will have a few more chapters because this can’t possibly be the end-game.

Asked about this, Durant, already sounding like a seasoned pro, opted to play the company man: “I guess we’ll know by the end of the summer how the team is looking.”